


Ghost

by Teigh



Series: Wee Fic Word Prompts [11]
Category: Books of Magic, Justice League of America (Comics), Vertigo (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-02-16
Updated: 2006-02-16
Packaged: 2017-10-11 16:51:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/114551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teigh/pseuds/Teigh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In dreams the chase just sharpens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ghost

**Author's Note:**

> This Zantanna is a blend of DC canon and Vertigo variants.

She dreams of her father's legacy, is haunted by ghostly doves and rabbits, pink eyes gleaming red with accusations. Sometimes she's in a maze, corridors ever narrowing, constructed of playing cards set at diagonals; as she presses forward the card stock presses back, until she can use her own blood to re-trace her passage. Her whole life she's chased after, following the swooping memory of coattails, the gleam of a silk hat. Following, always following, and never finding.

He's a dream, a taunt of possibility- magic's sweet potential, knowledge sliced open, cut in two, revealed with a flourish and the stark reality of spotlights. She doesn't want to follow- in fact, she hates it- but has no choice, no other option. His shadow has shaped her, his excesses define her, his magic is her only door. All she can ever be is contained within one word. Daughter.

She knows that are other ways- has tasted the possibility in a kiss tasting of bitters and tobacco, has seen and guided the future of the next Merlin. Sometimes she dreams of a library; a vast space with towering shelves and the kindest caretaker she's ever met. He always watches her pour through the dust-ridden texts, sadness a faint gleam behind his glasses. She's questing ever, looking for a way off the stage, past the tiny spirits, beyond her father's shadow. She suspects black wings conceal her Rosetta Stone.


End file.
